Wings
by Sabi-chan93
Summary: AU. Amazing powers don't come for free. They come with deadly enemies - in the form of a loved one? Eventual Cherik. Highshool age. Rated M for violence and slashy stuff.
1. Subway Attack

**A/N:** My first multi-chapter X-men story! Mind you, it's not the post-apocalyptic AU I'd originally wanted to write but HEY, close enough! XD

**Pairing**: Cherik – ErikxCharles

**Warnings**: homosexual themes, AU universe

**Disclaimer**: I don't own X-men first class (or any other part of the x-men franchise) – I can guarantee you it would have ended differently if I did.

**Chapter 1**

_(Charles' POV)_

"Cain!" he called. No reply. There was absolutely no trace of his stepbrother. Charles had been talking to Erik for too long at school and now he was late. He sincerely hoped Cain hadn't left without him. He turned left and made his way through the subway station. There were fewer people than usually down here. He was used to fighting his way through tons of stressed people not wanting to miss their trains. Today there were only four, not including himself.

It really shouldn't be that hard to find somebody with so little people around. Where had everybody gone? He called again. Still nothing. An uneasy feeling made him start running and turn right. He was going to be in so much trouble if he did not find Cain.

He scanned the tiny crowd in front of him … and stopped.

A large man, leaning against the tiled wall, stared back at him with both concern and curiosity. With his wild hair and buff exterior, the man was pretty much Charles' opposite. Charles was beginning to feel uncomfortable under the man's gaze and quickly hurried away to continue the search for Cain.

As he reached the next platform, he was informed by the sign that the next train south was in five minutes.

"Dammit," he mumbled to himself. Wrong platform. He would most definitely not find his stepbrother here. Walking back to the staircase he pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed Cain's number once again.

"_The number you have dialed is not available. Please try again later." _Well, it was worth a shot, he thought and put his phone back.

He stopped suddenly as he heard footsteps behind him. It would seem he wasn't as alone down here as he'd thought. A strong and unnatural uneasiness spread within him and he began walking again, faster this time. The corridor ahead was just as empty as the last one. Just one difference: It was a dead end.

The footsteps from behind were getting closer and he felt his palms get sweaty. A sharp and distressingly familiar ache in his chest made his panic even worse. _Not now,_ he thought and cursed the timing of his chest pains. The footsteps were getting close enough that he could tell there was more than one. Maybe they'd realize it was a dead end sooner than Charles. Then maybe they would turn back.

They didn't.

He'd reached the end now. The dead end. He turned around slowly. The pain in his chest worsened and he whimpered internally. It had never been this bad before. _It's gonna be okay, _he soothed himself. _It'll pass. Just like always._

Looking up, he saw two people clad in black; a red-skinned man and a blonde woman. The woman eyed him without interest but the man grinned evilly.

"Told you I'd found one," he laughed triumphantly. "An early stage but still useful."

The woman nodded. "Congratulations. You've managed to catch the most obvious scent in the world for the very first time. So impressive," she sneered and flipped her long hair back.

"Maybe if someone had bothered telling me how they smelled in the first place, we would have caught some more," he hissed. The woman didn't answer. She just kept her gaze locked on Charles and extended her hand towards him in what one might have viewed as a friendly gesture had her fingernails not suddenly begun to grow. Charles was frozen. The pain in his chest intensified as the hand got closer and he could barely breathe.

"Let's get this over with," the woman smiled as her crimson nails were now at least 30 centimeters long. Then she attacked.

Instinctively, Charles put one hand to his temple and another stretched out in front of him. A warm sensation spread through his head and he felt as if his consciousness was suddenly spread across two minds rather than one. The woman screeched and clenched her head in agony.

Shocked at the way he felt her pain, Charles lowered his hands and saw the woman lying in a fetal position on the ground. The red man's eyes turned deadly and red claws sprung from his nails as well. Then he jumped.

A terrified shriek escaped Charles' lips as he closed his eyes and braced himself for the blow. It didn't come. He opened his eyes and saw the man lie bloody next to the woman. Charles stared confusedly at the two in stunned silence before a rough hand grabbed his wrist and dragged him past them, away from the dead end.

"You alright?" growled the voice of the man dragging him. Charles recognized him as the large man from earlier and wondered why he wasn't freaking out. Charles felt like freaking out. He felt like freaking out a lot.

"I… don't know," he answered shakily as he was pulled upstairs and away from the subway. Charles realized they were leaving and tried to pull the other man to a stop – which was quite impossible when the man was so much bigger than he.

"I can't leave," he tried. "My stepbrother is still down here somewhere. I can't just leave him!"

"He's got a better chance of surviving if you're not there," the man said gravely. They made their way outside and the man sped up, forcing Charles to run.

"How?" he asked. Even though Cain was rather large and strong, Charles had a hard time picturing him actually fighting those strange people in black.

"Because you're their target." The man had a tormented look on his rough face.

"Me?"

"Well," the man said as he dragged Charles through a playground. "Not just you. They've probably caught my scent as well now."

Charles tried understanding the man's words but it was all happening far too fast. His breathing was becoming shallow but the adrenalin kept him running. Fifteen minutes later they finally stopped running and the man let go of Charles wrist. The skin underneath the hand was all red now and Charles rubbed it gingerly. Could have been worse.

"I suppose I should thank you," he said with a cautious smile, turning towards the man. "For saving my life."

"No problem," the man shrugged and sniffed their air around them.

"I'm Charles, by the way," he said, thinking it odd that he didn't that the man who'd just saved his life was a total stranger. The man eyed him warily.

"Logan," he answered and checked the surroundings again. "We should get you home." Charles shuddered. He was going to have to return home without Cain. There was definitely going to be consequences.

._._. :

._..

_Alright, this chapter's a little short but that's mostly _

_because the next part didn't tie in too well with this so I put it in _

_chapter 2 instead. Coming soon._


	2. Instincts

**A/N:** Second Chapter! And Erik's actually in this one! Yays~

**Warnings**: homosexual themes, AU universe, and since I have only seen the movies I know some of the characters might end up somewhat out of character to fit into the story – bear with me.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own X-men first class – which is sad since I'd probably be able to afford a driver's license if I did.

**Chapter 2**

_(Erik's POV)_

Charles hadn't come to school yet, Erik concluded as he scouted the school yard from his place amongst 'the bad kids' by the brick wall. Erik hadn't seen him enter school with his stepbrother like he usually did every morning, he hadn't seen him in the cafeteria during lunch and he hadn't passed him by his locker fifteen minutes ago. Erik was annoyed. The Xavier boy was just about the only reason he actually bothered coming to school.

"Hey Lehnsherr," Janos called, effectively interrupting his thoughts. Erik lazily turned his head. Yup, that was indeed Janos, he concluded and turned his attention to the sky. Somehow that guy always managed to interrupt his thoughts at such times that he was almost constantly annoyed with him.

Janos sat down by the wall and a few of the others greeted him with a cigarette. "He's not here today, is he?" he guessed, quite correctly, and flashed Erik a knowing smirk. A few of the others snickered. Erik's obsession was hardly a secret.

"Maybe he's finally suing you for sexual harassment," Janos grinned. Erik tried punching the nuisance but he moved just out of his reach and, well, Erik was feeling too lazy to make an actual effort.

"Cheer up, already," one of the other tried. "You're gonna be no fun at all at the concert if you keep sulking like that."

"I am not s-"

"Speak of the devil," Janos interrupted and pointed towards the parking lot. "Seems he's coming anyways."

Erik's head shot up instantly and sure enough, Charles Xavier was making his way across the parking lot. Erik frowned. The boy didn't look too good – well, not as good as usual. He had dark circles under his pretty blue eyes, his brown hair was a total mess, and the big sweater he wore had fallen halfway down his left shoulder.

Erik would like to believe that he had the dignity to not confirm what his 'friends' had just said by walking over to the newcomer, but he was already halfway across the school yard when he thought of this. A gush of wind brushed the pile of papers out of Charles' hands and the boy dropped to pick them up.

"You're late," Erik said as he picked up one of Charles' papers. Startled blue eyes looked up at him. The boy gulped, making Erik smirk. He always seemed to make Charles a bit uncomfortable. Quite amusing.

"I, um, overslept, it would seem," Charles stated as he ran a nervous hand through his already messy hair. Erik lifted an eyebrow. In his opinion Charles didn't look like he'd slept at all. Shrugging it off he handed the boy his paper back, making sure their hands brushed. Charles looked away awkwardly before scouting the school yard for his friends. Erik smiled. He knew they weren't there. Then he remembered why he'd wanted to talk to Charles in the first place.

"Are you free tonight?" he asked, leaning closer to the other's face. Charles' eyes widened and an enticing blush spread across his cheeks.

"I g-guess," he answered. "Why?"

"Well there's this thing tonight. In the park. A c-"

"A concert!" Janos interrupted as he slung an arm over Charles' shoulder. "And _we_ would just love for you to come with us, Xavier."

We? Erik glared at Janos. Was he really still mad at him for not attending his party? Janos stood even closer to Charles before turning his head towards the other guys from the brick wall.

"Wouldn't we?" he grinned.

Yes, he was still mad. And the others joined his scheme and loudly agreed that they should _all_ be hanging out tonight. Erik was fuming. He'd been looking for a decent chance to spend some alone time with the Xavier boy for a long time, and the concert had seemed perfect. There would be a lot of people – meaning that Charles might be less hesitant about going with him. Knowing how much his friends intimidated Charles, there was a great possibility that the boy would come up with some excuse now.

"What do you say?" Janos asked in the nicest voice he possessed. Charles looked cornered. Then he looked up at Erik and smiled.

"Sure."

"Excellent!" Janos exclaimed as he finally let go of Charles. "We'll meet up by the usual place at eight. Lehnsherr knows the spot."

Erik's friends all went back to the brick wall, leaving him alone with Charles.

"It's on the corner by the old music shop," Erik explained. "You don't _have_ to come if you'd rather go with your own friends."

_Please come anyway._ Charles smiled.

"No, no. It's sounds like fun," The bell rang and Charles looked in the direction of the doors before finally getting a better hold on his books and papers.

"See you tonight."

._.-._.

.-.-.-.-._,,

As expected none of Erik's friends showed up on time. Or rather, Remy did but that was hardly noticeable. He was a very quiet guy and almost never spoke unless it was something important like, 'the teacher's asking for you', 'Can I borrow your phone' or 'Look out. There's a car!". This night was no exception. He just looked at his worn watch a few times and frowned irritably. Erik never said it out loud but he much preferred Remy to his other friends.

"Hey! Missed me?" Janos called from the other side of the road. Every eye in the street was on him but he either didn't notice or didn't mind. Behind him were a few of the others. And Charles.

Erik sighed with relief. He'd been concerned the other wouldn't come. It was a shame he'd run into the gang before him. He looked extremely uncomfortable and out of place, tucking nervously on his hoodie string. Erik wished – not for the first time – that murdering your friends wasn't illegal.

Charles made his way to Erik's side as soon as the group had crossed the road. He smiled up at Erik with a timid 'hello'. Erik grinned.

"*_cough_-SHARK-_cough_*" Janos coughed warningly behind him. Erik glared at him. He was getting a little sick of that comparison. Charles looked confused for about half a minute before his eyes widened with realization and he quickly held a hand to his mouth to stop himself from laughing. Now Erik was _really _sad about not being able to kill Janos.

"Let's get going," he growled and began walking towards the park. Charles followed very closely to Erik, still really uncomfortable around the group.

(_Charles' POV_)

The park was crowded with noisy teenagers. Loud speakers sent deep bass tones right into the faces of Charles and the others. He made sure to stay as close to Erik as he could without actually touching him. Erik's loud friend, Janos, offered him a sip of beer. He politely declined, feeling the nausea rise at the mere smell of the golden liquid. He didn't drink. He couldn't. The very idea of drinking brought him a crystal clear image of his stepfather as he knew him best; drunk and unpleasant.

"Well, John and I promised to find Maddy so we're gonna go look. Later!" Janos yelled as he pulled John through the massive crowd. Most of the others left, too, to go look for various friends or vacant urination spots. Leaving Charles almost alone with Erik. If only the silent one would leave. Erik and the other guy exchanged a look before the guy smirked and made up some excuse for leaving.

Charles gulped as he and Erik were finally alone – well, as alone as they could be in a park full of drunken teenagers. He had no idea what to do. No idea of what he could say.

"There sure are a lot of people out tonight, huh?" he tried lamely, kicking himself for not thinking of anything better. He actually really wanted to speak to Erik Lehnsherr. He really did. There was just something about the guy, something so intimidating that Charles' mind went blank every time he tried.

"Sure are," Erik agreed with a smirk. "Wanna get closer to the stage?"

Charles nodded though he honestly still had no clue as to who was performing. Erik grabbed his hand and began walking him further into the park, and Charles was strangely reminded of the day before and his meeting with Logan. They passed a loud group of guys wolf-whistling a pretty blonde in a very short skirt, and Charles briefly thought he recognized one of them. It didn't matter, though. If he didn't recognize them immediately he probably never would for as long as he was trapped in an Erik-induced mind fog.

"Ouch!" he cried as he suddenly fell victim to his chest pain again. He pulled his hand free from Erik's and crossed both his arms across his chest, leaning on the nearest stabile thing; Erik.

"Are you okay?" Erik asked in a concerned voice and put a hand on his shoulder. Charles nodded breathlessly and slid to the ground. It should pass soon, he reminded himself. He hated these chest pains so much, and after the events of the day before, he was actually a little scared of them now as well. He tried to ignore it like he usually would, but the increased amount of pain made it near impossible to even breathe – let alone act normally.

The feeling of pain was stronger than he was used to, but also different. Instead of an actual pain it now felt like an internal vacuum cleaner was pulling at his heart. The same feeling was spreading through his mind, pulling his consciousness towards something in the farthest corner of the park.

As if in a trance Charles got up and moved towards the place. If felt like an invisible string was pulling him, and an unsettling worry began dominating his head. Something bad had happened. Something horrible. He just knew, instinctively, just like he knew he was somehow involved.

He also knew someone was following him. He didn't bother checking; he was fairly certain it was Erik. His gut told him that he needed to go somewhere a little outside of the park. So he did, completely controlled by his new uncovered instincts he ignored the worried calls from Erik behind him. He began running, still unsure why, and hurried towards a back alley. An underfed cat was startled by his sudden appearance and hid behind a trash can. Charles ignored it. He knew he wasn't here for the cat; he was here for whatever was in those giant dumpsters in the back.

A panic spread through his core as he made his way over. He really didn't _want_ to open the lid. But he _should_. Hesitantly he pulled the lid off the closet dumpster.

He screamed. He screamed all his non-smoker lungs could handle - which was quite a lot. He let himself fall down onto the asphalt. In the dumpster was a girl around his age, buried in garbage and blood with a deep hole on the left side of her chest. Right where Charles now felt the pull tightening.

"What's wrong?" a voice sounded behind him. Erik sat down next to him and took his hand. Charles weakly lifted a shaky arm to point at the dumpster. The girl in the container wasn't even pale yet. If you didn't look at the blood or the gaping hole in her chest, she just looked like she was sleeping. Charles felt sick when he realized he'd seen her before. She was the pretty blonde those boys had been howling at.

"Ah shit!" Erik exclaimer upon checking the dumpster. He ran both hands through his dark strands and closed his eyes. For a brief moment, Charles almost thought he saw strangeness in the other's eyes but it disappeared quickly as Erik composed himself. He pulled out his phone and called for help, before sitting down next to Charles.

"Are you okay?" he asked and rubbed soothing circles on Charles' back. _Of course not_, Charles thought in frustration. There was a dead girl in a dumpster and he was in serious pain. Wait ..

"It's gone?" he exclaimed, unintentionally leaning closer into Erik's touch. The pain was gone. He looked up at Erik in confusion. When did that happen?


	3. Wings and Voices

**Warnings**: Same as before + plus some somewhat gory violence at the end of this chapter.

**Disclaimer**: I still don't own X-men.

**A/N: **Speaking in italics with '-s around is Charles hearing someone else's thoughts~

**A/N 2**: this might explain the title a bit XD

**Chapter 3**

_(Charles' POV)_

It hurt. It hurt so incredibly bad. Charles sat on the floor of the bathroom with his knees pulled tightly to his chest in order to force the pain back. It wasn't helping. He leaned against the outside of the shower and listened to the stream of water he was using as an excuse to hide in the room.

"You dead in there or what?!" Cain called as he knocked harshly on the locked door. Charles sighed, knowing his time was up. He didn't want to mess with someone who was quite capable of taking the door down, so he got up and turned the water off. After waiting three rebellious seconds before unlocking the door he snuck past his large stepbrother. Not working. The guy took rude hold of his wrist and glared challengingly down at him. Charles looked away. He didn't bother putting up a fight. Not anymore. He'd lost every bit of rebellious edge to him years ago.

'…_. Why the hell isn't your hair wet?..."_

"I dried it," he lied.

"What?" Cain looked puzzled. '…. _The hell is wrong with that kid? …'_ Still. He just shook his head and pushed past Charles to the bathroom.

Charles quietly made his way back to his room, making as little noise as possible in fear that he might wake up his stepfather. The pain was still there, intensifying now that nothing else was demanding his attention. He slid to the floor to continue feeling sorry for himself. He really didn't have time for this. He had homework to do. He supposed he was lucky he was a little ahead of the class anyway, but that wasn't going to last if he kept spending all of his time on the floor.

He heard a noise outside of his window but chose to ignore it. It was probably just one of those gangs causing trouble again. He sighed. They used to live in such a good neighborhood – Charles and his mother. Until his mother married Kurt Marko and all their money seemed to decrease rapidly. Now he was stuck in this less than desirable apartment with Kurt and Cain until his mother returned from her vacation to the place no one would tell him about. A similar noise made him look up at the window with a frown.

'… _can't hear? Just come out already…' _

Charles looked around wildly. He'd heard the voice as clear as had it been spoken directly into his ear yet there appeared to be no one in the room but himself. Another noise, louder this time, sounded

close to him and he finally understood that it came from his window. Something was being thrown at his window.

Curiosity and pain battled each other for a few minutes before the need to know finally got Charles to make his way to the window.

'…. _Finally…' _

The was little light in the streets but he could sense the outline of a broad figure standing in the street, facing Charles' building. The figure stepped into the cone of light coming from the lamppost. It was Logan!

The rough-looking man stared Charles in the eyes and made a gesture to get the boy down. Charles quickly got up and was about to head out when reason finally caught up to him. This was a stranger – and a scary-looking one at that.

'…_just come down already!...' _

The voice was growing impatient. Was it Logan's? He couldn't quite recall the sound of the man's voice but surely it couldn't be; he was all the way down there. Charles finally made up his mind and headed out of his room as quietly as he could. Stranger or not, Logan had saved his life. If that didn't earn some respect, what did?

Grabbing his keys and putting on his sneakers, he persistently listened for any sound indicating that Kurt was about to wake from the couch. He'd learnt to stay under the radar lately. It was easier. Remembering his stepfather he self-consciously pulled his sleeves down over the bruises on his arms. He carefully locked the door and hurried down the stairwell.

As he entered the cool night wind he spotted Logan, still standing by the lamppost. Charles flinched as another shot of pain hit him in the chest. Logan's brows furrowed.

'… _it's gonna happen soon…'_

Charles' head shot up. "What's going to happen?"

"Excuse me?" The man looked confused.

"You said 'it's gonna happen soon'," Charles clarified and rubbed his chest. "What's going to happen?"

Logan stared at him strangely for a second before laughing.

"So that's what you do." The humor vanished from Logan's eyes as Charles flinched in pain again, whimpering this time. Charles could hear rush of his blood in his ears and his head was starting to spin. Logan was quick to catch him when his knees got to weak to carry him. He put Charles' arm over his shoulder and started to walk him away from the street.

' … _can't happen here. Someone might see. THEY might see…' _

"See what?" Charles managed weakly, confused as he could have sworn Logan's mouth had remained closed when he heard the words.

"You'll find out soon enough, Kiddo. We need to go somewhere," Logan explained. "No worries. It's close."

Charles wanted to ask more questions but the pain in his chest was turning into a fire, rapidly claiming every corner of his being.

The world was spinning far too much for Charles to see where they were going but when they eventually stopped he was placed on the floor of a closed shop. He glanced up. It was shoe store. The windows were covered heavily in drapes and cardboard and the smell of leather filled the air around him.

"New kid?" a strange voice asked somewhere behind him.

"Yup," Logan responded before sitting down next to Charles to put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Kiddo, but it's just me and Alex today," he said. "But we're gonna get you through this, okay?"

Charles opened his mouth to ask countless questions but was silenced by another round of fire coursing through his body. It was too much. He could hardly handle the pain in his chest – now it was _everywhere_. He whimpered and felt another hand on his back. He briefly thought back to the girl in the alley, to Erik's hand on his back. He missed Erik.

"Hey, hey," the strange voice, Alex, said. "It's gonna hurt real bad but after that it gets better. A lot better."

Charles looked up at the boy. He looked around his age with blonde hair and great features. Charles whimpered pathetically as the fire burnt his insides again. Wasn't people supposed to black out when experiencing this big an amount of pain? Wasn't the brain supposed to spare you of that kind of hurt?

He screamed. It was too much. Far too much. Alex pulled him close, muttering comforts into his ears. Had it not been for the pain Charles would have noticed the pity and empathy in his voice. Charles clung to the boy's t-shirt and buried his face into the other's chest as his breathing grew rapid.

He felt the pain gather around his shoulder blades. He heard the sound of fabric tearing and pulled away from Alex's chest to look up. Gazing into a mirror placed on the floor near a shelf of boots, he saw he own eyes staring wildly back at him. Two beams of light had shot out from around his shoulder blades, ripping through his shirt. The light materialized into two triangular shapes and Charles felt a warm liquid run down his back.

He clenched his eyes shot. This wasn't happening. It wasn't real. It couldn't be. He let out a breath of relief when the pain vanished out his back. He opened his eyes and gasped loudly.

"W-what's.. I-I don't… how?!" he cried. The Charles in the mirror now had two large white wings where the triangular lights had been. Alex laughed.

"I believe those were my exact words, too."

The mirror had to be lying. Maybe it was a trick? Charles turned his head. No, it wasn't. Turning his head he got a face full of feathers. He sneezed, making Alex laugh even louder.

"Didn't do that, though!" Logan hit him on the back of the head.

"Shut it, Punk," he hissed before checking the big clock on the opposite wall. "And we've kept you out for too long, Kiddo. Your parents gonna notice?"

Charles shook his head. "What's going on?"

Logan and Alex shared a look and the blonde got up to go mess around behind the counter. Logan scratched his sideburns.

"It's a bit of a story, Kiddo. Maybe we should save it for when we have the full group gathered. They wanna know, too."

Charles looked around the shop. Boxes of shoes were piled up against the walls and shelves. He didn't recognized the place at all. Then again, he wasn't that big of a shoe-shopper – and thank God for that; he was girly enough as it was. Logan got up and stretched before making his way to the back door. Charles eyes widened.

"Wait! I can't go home. Not when I look like this!" he cried out. "What I am going to do!"

Maybe the wings could be surgically removed. Maybe he could find a surgeon who could keep his mouth shut. Maybe he should just hide in a basement forever.

"Easy, easy!" Alex called and Charles realized he was beginning to hyperventilate.

"You can make them go away but you have to _calm yourself down_," Logan said. "Calm your breathing."

Charles did his best to pull himself together and forcibly calmed his breathing. It was difficult but he eventually managed.

"Good boy," Logan spoke. "Now focus on the wings. You should be able to feel them just as much as much as you can feel your arms and legs."

Charles tried to focus of his back and moved his shoulder blade experimentally. And sure enough he felt them. The wings felt heavy and weak but as he got in touch with the muscle they spread, taking up quite a lot of room.

"Now try to pull them back."

Charles did as he was told. At first the wings just closed in around him. Then they spread backwards and Charles felt it. He felt a way out. A hole to retract them into. So he did. He watched in the mirror as the wings turned to light again, and the light disappeared into his back again.

"Fast learner," Logan praised and stretched out his hand for Charles to take. He helped the boy to his feet. Seeing himself in another mirror Charles gasped at what he saw from the new angle. The back of his shirt was holed and covered in blood and the red liquid now dripped to the floor as he shook.

"It's fine," Alex said as he moved to Charles' side. "Your back should have healed already. You should probably take this, though."

He handed Charles a thick hoodie. "People might stare."

Hesitantly Charles took off his ruined shirt and put on the hoodie instead. Alex watched him attentively, eyeing the bruises on him with great curiosity. He at least had the courtesy not to mention them.

"So, what can you do?"

"Pardon?" Charles asked.

"He's a mind-reader," Logan said near the door, ready to take Charles home.

Alex looked Charles up and down. '… _a really cute mind-reader …' _

Charles blushed.

_(Erik's POV)_

Footsteps. He ran down the dark alley. The scent was driving him crazy. Burning his nostrils and sneaking into his brain. The dark desire rose again.

The scent. It was calling him, carried by the polluted city air and waking up his inner monster. He could hear it. It was just one this time. All alone and defenseless. He wasn't in control anymore. The monster was claiming his mind and taking over his body.

He saw it. A boy. A tall one but still, all alone. The monster growled and grew its claws out. It jumped. The boy screamed out of fear and surprise.

The boy was fighting, fighting the hardest he could for the only life he had. Hopeless. Erik was bigger and stronger than he.

Warm red liquid streamed down his hand as it pierced through the boy's chest. And he found it: The heart. He could feel it throbbing in his palm. He grinned and pulled the hardening organ out of the stiffening body. The boy fell to the ground.

The heart glistened in the street light. Then it hardened entirely. Harder and harder, until Erik stood with a crimson fist-sized crystal in his hand.

Then the guilt hit him as the monster went back into hiding. He'd done it again. And he felt somewhat horrible. He should get away. And so he did, stuffing the heart into the pocket of his coat.


	4. Guilt and Standards

**Warnings**: Same

**Disclaimer**: Nothing's changes. I still don't own X-men.

**Chapter 4**

_(Erik's POV)_

He felt terrible. Just like he always did these days. He was a constant victim to a sick combination of guilt and self-satisfaction. He both hated and applauded his actions and it confused him to no end. Sometimes it felt like the guilt and self-loathing wasn't even real – just a defense mechanism to feel like less of a psychopath. Like it was something he _forced_ himself to feel, to cover up the pride and the satisfaction.

The brick wall felt nice and cool to his back. He turned his head against it, hoping it would rid him of the headache that was rising up. He'd spent the entire morning contemplating whether to actually go to school or not today. Right now he couldn't even remember why he'd decided to come.

"Erik?" _Oh, right. That's why, _he thought as he opened his eyes to stare into the worried face of Charles Xavier.

"Hmm?"

"Are you alright?" Charles asked. Erik smiled. He loved how genuine Charles' concern for other people was. Such a rare quality.

"I'm fine," he told the boy and managed a smile. "Why?"

"Um, I don't know… you just looked a bit…" _utterly miserable?_ "… miserable."

Erik raised an eyebrow at the choice of word. What, now he was a mind-reader or something? Charles blushed.

"I'm fine," he assured the smaller boy and took a sip of his cup of to-go coffee. It was horrible. He briefly noted that Charles' friends didn't seem to be around for once. Was that intentional?

"Are you sure?" Charles asked, still with worry in his eyes. _His very pretty blue eyes._ Charles fidgeted awkwardly with the strap of his messenger bag as his cheeks got even redder. What was up with him today?

"I really am fine, Charles," he said. "Just had a rough night."

_Looks like you did too._ The boy looked even more disheveled than yesterday. Charles nodded in understanding to his answer before shocking Erik by actually sitting down next to him by the brick wall. With just the messenger bag between them the boy seemed even smaller than before.

"You're not eating with your friends today?" Erik asked when the lunch bell rang and the boy next to him made no move to leave. Charles shook his head.

"I'm not really hungry. And I think Moira and Amy can manage forty minutes without me," he laughed before blushing as he added, "Besides, you count as a friend, too. Right?"

Erik almost laughed at the insecurity behind that last word. "I guess I do."

"Didn't you sleep last night?" He finally asked when he couldn't stop being bothered by the tired look on the other's pretty face. Charles smiled and rubbed his wrist a little.

"Not really," the boy admitted. Erik offered him his cup of coffee and grinned when Charles cringed at the taste. Charles' sleeve had succumbed to gravity when the boy had lifted the cup and Erik's eyes widened at the dark purple bruise around his tiny wrist. Erik's grin disappeared.

"What happened to you?" he asked, suddenly angry. Who dared put a hand on someone as sweet and fragile-looking as Charles? Charles immediately realized his mistake and quickly pulled the sleeve back over his wrist.

"It's nothing. Just a stupid accident," he mumbled. _Right_.

Erik could easily tell that Charles wasn't comfortable talking about it, and since he didn't want to ruin whatever little time he got to spend with the boy he left it at that. Charles yawned next to him.

"Tired?" Erik asked with a grin.

"Just a little," the boy answered through another yawn.

Erik smiled softly and reached out to touch Charles' cheek. Caressing the cheek he gently coached the other's head into leaning on his shoulder.

"Get some rest then," Erik said and petted the adorable boy's brown hair. His words had been entirely unnecessary as Charles was already snoring lightly on his shoulder. Must have been more than just 'a little' tired. He smiled. Maybe Charles wasn't really as uncomfortable around Erik as he'd originally thought.

Someone whistled a few meters away from him and he looked up to see his friends making faces at him. Rolling his eyes, he flipped them off and ignored them as they left laughing. Well, most of them. Remy grinned and gave him a thumbs-up.

The bell rang and the school yard emptied slowly as the sighing students made their way back to class. Erik briefly thought about waking up Charles but decided against it. Looking back down at the boy he noticed that his usual way-too-big sweater had come down one of his shoulders. Erik frowned when he noticed another bruise around the boy's collarbone. That definitely wasn't from just an accident.

After almost half an hour the boy finally stirred out of his sleep. He groggily looked around the empty school yard, clearly confused. Then it must have dawned of him that classes had started because with a panicked look on his face he jumped to his feet.

"Oh my God, what time is it?!" the boy exclaimed. Erik grabbed his arm and pulled him back to the ground next to him. "Has the bell rung?!"

"Relax," he whispered into Charles' ear, smirking as the boy shivered. "Yes, the bell rang, about 35 minutes ago."

Wide blue eyes filled with terror at the awareness of being late but he made no move to get up again. "But why didn't you wake me up. You'll be late too."

"I'm failing anyways," Erik shrugged. Charles eyed him sadly.

"Look, I know you really don't want to skip class," Erik said. "Just because I'm not going doesn't mean you should get in trouble."

Charles looked torn. But eventually he settled himself comfortably on the ground next to Erik. Erik lifted an eyebrow but didn't question the boy any further.

"Erik, why do you come here?" Charles asked cautiously.

"Hmm?"

"I mean, you don't seem to actually go class that often yet I still see you almost every day," Charles clarified. "Why is that?"

Erik laughed. _For the reason you just mentioned. To see you every day._

"Oh," Charles said and blushed. Erik was confused. Had he said that out loud?

"Shouldn't you be in class?" sounded a deep voice. Erik looked up to see a very large guy standing in front of them. Charles suddenly seemed two sizes smaller, almost crawling into himself. Erik recognized the guy as the person Charles walked to school with almost every day; his step-brother Cain. Erik didn't like Cain. Not because he'd ever encountered the guy personally before but because he'd heard the stories of him from his friends. His friends actually seemed weirdly intimidated by the guy – which was reason enough to dislike him. No one who could intimidate his friends that way could possibly be a decent person. Erik liked him even less when he was glaring so threateningly at Charles.

"Um, yeah. I guess I should," Charles said, looking away and biting his lip.

"He doesn't have to do anything he doesn't want to do," Erik spoke through gritted teeth. Charles looked at him with sad eyes.

"No, Cain's right. I actually have a presentation today," Charles said, not convincing Erik at all that it was his own decision.

He got up and grabbed his back, throwing an apologetic glance at Erik before leaving for class. Cain glared openly at Erik before stepping even closer.

"You need to stay away from him," the giant said dangerously.

"Oh, and why is that?" Erik spat and got to his feet, feeling far too short when sitting before someone that big.

"I've been really patient with you, Lehnsherr. I've even allowed for you to talk to him almost every fucking day," Cain said. "But it ends now. First he sneaks out to a concert and now he's skipping? No freaking way."

"How sweet that you care so much for you brother. Quite endearing," Erik mocked. Cain snorted.

"No one _cares_ about that brat," he said, making Erik narrow his eyes angrily. "My father needs him to keep up to a certain standard. I'm making sure of that."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Erik demanded. Cain just snorted again before turning to leave.

"None of your business."


	5. Reasons Why

**Warnings**: Same

**Disclaimer**: I still don't own X-men.

**A/N: **Alright, it's about time now. Logan owes us an explanation. This took me longer to write than I thought it would – I've been repeatedly distracted by the surprisingly warm weather.

BTW: **This is Charles talking to other people's minds.**

**Chapter 5**

_(Charles' POV)_

_-Meet up at the shop tonight at ten – _

Charles had read the text from Logan at least twelve times already. He wasn't entirely sure how he was going to pull that off when Cain was keeping such a close eye on him. There was a limit to how long he could pretend to study while his stepbrother sat on his bed and glared at him. It was already 9:25 PM and Charles tried to ignore the panic that was rising in his chest. He should be leaving very soon.

'…._ Why's he looking at the clock so much? If he thinks I'm gonna let him sneak out again…'_

Charles held back a sigh at Cain's thoughts. Cain might be a lot of things but stupid wasn't one. How the hell was Charles supposed to sneak past him? He tried focusing his attention on the book in front of him but it was hard when the other's thoughts were so loud.

'… _bet it's Lehnsherr again. Stupid punk..'_

It took a lot of self-control not to look up at Cain at that one. Instead he tried thinking of possible ways to leave the apartment without anyone noticing. It would have been easier if his stepfather had been home too. When both were home, Cain and Kurt tended to just assume that the other one was keeping an eye on Charles. With Kurt out of the apartment Cain was very focused on keeping every bit of his attention on Charles who in return had to be on his best behavior to keep the peace.

If only Cain would leave. If only he would stop staring at him so intensely. There had to be a way, Charles thought desperately.

He fixated every bit of his attention on Cain's mind. There had to be something that could make Cain lose interest in his given task. He listened carefully to Cain's thoughts. He clearly wasn't happy being stuck here with Charles. He'd been invited to some kind of drinking event and he was very pissed at his father for making him babysit.

'**You should go'** Charles tried insisting into to the other's mind. Cain looked around the room in confusion while Charles did his best to keep his gaze on his book. He could _feel_ Cain's mind in his consciousness, as real and touchable as the book in front of him.

'**Charles isn't going anywhere. Just go. No one will know' **He tried again, mentally wrapping the idea around Cain's mind, molding it into the other's thoughts.

'**Nothing's gonna happen' **

After a few more attempts from Charles there was really no telling the difference between Cain's thoughts and Charles' suggestions.

'**Just go'**

Cain got up from Charles' bed abruptly. Charles looked up to see the larger boy stare at him with a determined look in his eyes.

"You're staying here," he said. It didn't sound like an order or a question; just an observation. He pointed threatening finger at Charles. "You're going straight to bed when you're done."

Charles nodded as timidly as he could muster, mesmerized by his newly discovered power. Cain left the room immediately and soon Charles heard the sound of keys unlocking and locking the front door. Charles waited until he could see his stepbrother turn around the corner from his window before jumping to his feet. He pulled a large hoodie over his head and left.

Before long he was out on the street and faced with a new problem: he could not for the life of him remember which way the shop was. The last and only time he'd been there, he had been in so much pain he couldn't pay attention. Where had Logan taken him? He tried to remember at least which direction but came up short.

'… _Logan could have been a little more specific about this kid's location…'_

'… _been walking for almost forty-five minutes! ...'_

Charles had turned his head towards the two approaching figures at the sound of Logan's name in their minds. He quickly recognized the tall muscular blond complaining about walking for too long.

"Alex?"

The person in question lifted his head as he recognized his name and cracked a huge smile.

"There you are!" he exclaimed excitedly before turning to the tall and lanky boy next to him. "See, told ya this was the place."

"Sure, after we ruled out the entire rest of the city," the other mumbled and adjusted his glasses before holding out his hand. "You must be Charles. I'm Hank."

Charles shook Hank's hand and smiled politely. "Nice to meet you."

"Logan figured you probably wouldn't be able to remember the way since… you know," Alex said and shrugged his shoulders. Charles nodded gratefully.

"Well, he wasn't entirely wrong," he agreed and followed the two as they began walking away from the apartment block. It took less than twenty minutes before they reached the shoe shop and Charles wondered just what direction Hank and Alex had taken.

The inside of the shop hadn't changed much – except now there were two strange teenagers standing near Logan. One of them was a pretty blonde girl dressed in a rather short dress and a leather jacket, looking thoroughly bored. The other was a skinny red-headed boy stacking a bunch of shoe boxes into a pyramid.

"Found him," Alex called out as they entered.

"Took you a while," the girl said and flipped her hair back. "Logan said he lived nearby."

"Well, then Logan should have given more specific instructions," Alex spat back.

"Not my fault you have no sense of direction," said Logan as he approached the newcomers. He nodded his head in greeting at Charles before gesturing the boys to sit somewhere. Charles looked around the room and couldn't help but wonder why Logan was the only one present who was not a teenager.

"Alright, first things first," Logan started and turned to Charles. "Charles, you've already met Alex and now Hank. That just leaves Raven and – _SEAN, STOP PILING BOXES_!"

Turning to the boy – Sean – Charles was impressed to see him now having climbed to the top of a shelf to continue building his pyramid tall enough to touch the ceiling. Sean grinned goofily and jumped to the floor.

"I was bored," he shrugged before sitting down when Logan's glare got too heavy.

Alright," Logan tried again. "I've asked you all to come tonight because you're undergoing some changes and I'm thinking you have questions."

He looked around the room, eyes landing on Hank's raised hand.

"Yes?"

"Why do those people want to kill us?" the bespectacled boy asked. The other teens nodded eagerly, all curious as well.

"Yeah! They just as different as us!" Raven agreed, and then blushed when all eyes were suddenly on her. "Well, it's not like they're normal either!"

Logan sighed irritable and grabbed his already lit cigar from the ashtray on the counter. Inhaling the smoke deeply, Charles could hear the man counting to ten mentally.

"You're right. They're not normal. But they're not like us either," the man spoke around his cigar. "We called them the Red-Winged."

"Why?" Charles wondered out loud. He'd seen red claws, sure, but did they have wings too?

"'Cause we weren't very creative," Logan said dryly.

"Who's 'we'?" asked Sean from behind a new pile of boxes. Logan was silent for a while, a grave look in his eyes.

"The ones before you," the man said. "And the ones before them."

"What do you mean?" Raven asked with a frown.

"It happens every thirteen years. A group of young people – always around your age – start changing," Logan explained. "Starts out with chest pain." The group of teens winced at the memory. "Then comes the powers. And then the wings."

"But why do the... _Red-Winged_ want to kill us?" Hank asked again.

"Because of this," Logan said as he pulled something out of his jacket pocket. He held out his hand for the teens to see a large crystal-like stone, red as blood. The teens were all subconsciously leaning closer.

"What is it?" Charles asked in awe. Logan eyed him sadly.

"This is the reason your chests have been hurting," he said. "Every thirteen years a bunch of kids' hearts start changing. And every thirteen years a new group of Red-Wings appear to hunt the kids down and them – which obviously kills them."

Charles had unconsciously lifted his hand to his heart as he remembered the poor girl in the dumpster; the poor girl with the hole in her chest.

"What do they want our hearts for?" he asked in a tiny voice that only Logan appeared to hear.

"From what I've heard there're several reasons," the man answered. "Apparently they have strong healing abilities once removed which obviously make them worth quite a bit of money. But mostly I think it's because they believe they can harvest our special abilities and feed off our energy."

A grave silence had spread throughout the shop. Most of the teenagers had paled considerably at the thought of having their hearts pulled out, and Charles could see from flashes of memories streaming off the others that he wasn't the only one who'd stumbled upon a dead person with a hole in their chest.

"Where are the others? From your time?" Alex asked.

"Gone," Logan said. "I'm the only survivor from my group – twenty six years ago."

"Who was that?" Charles asked as he returned his gaze to the stone heart in Logan's palm. Logan's eyes grew distant and Charles thought he saw flashes of long red hair and green eyes.

"A friend," he answered.


	6. Hunted

**Warnings**: Same as before.

**Disclaimer**: I still don't own X-Men. Evidently I'm not meant to have that kind of money.

**A/N: **This is probably the last thing I'll write before I leave for a week-long trip to Rhodes with my family. I'm not sure how fast the next chapter will come after that but I'll try to not forget what I wanted to write in it.

(Also, I know there haven't been all that many Cherik moments but trust me – they're coming!)

**Chapter 6**

_(Charles' POV)_

Upon seeing the dark circles around Alex' eyes, Charles had insisted he was perfectly capable of finding his way home on his own. He was severely questioning his decision now. Having just heard Logan's story Charles was feeling rather paranoid, and the added feeling of dread for whatever consequences he might be facing for sneaking out wasn't helping. He still had painful dark bruises from the last time he'd snuck out and he was really hoping to avoid a repeat. If he was lucky neither Kurt nor Cain would be home yet.

Then again, Charles wasn't exactly what you might call _lucky_ – a theory proven when he felt a dangerous tug on his heart that made him stop up in the middle of crossing the street.

'… _Weak little creature. Can't even sense me until I'm right in front of you…'_

Charles looked to the voice and saw the scary woman from the subway. She stood on the other side of the street, patiently waiting for him.

'**Ah, so you finally noticed'** she spoke to his mind with an evil smirk. Charles' eyes widened. _How could she possibly do that?_

'**Same way you do. Now be a good boy and let me finish my job'**

Had Charles been smarter he would have run the second he felt the presence. Now she was nearing him fast with a mocking grin and he was absolutely frozen.

He was momentarily blinded by the headlights of a forthcoming car, and it shook him out of his frozen state enough to jump back.

"Get off the damn street!" the male driver yelled before disappearing.

Charles took advantage of the situation and ran before the blonde woman removed her gaze from the car. Making as many turns as possible he cringed at the tug on his heart that told him she wasn't far behind. Charles wasn't a fast runner – at all- but at least he wasn't clumsy, and he prayed that at least that fact would make him able to get away from that… _thing._

'**Please. Call me Emma'** she teased in his head.

Charles shook his head violently and nearly hit a street sign because of it. He knew it would be stupid to run home. If he did, they would know where he was most hours of every day. Making a quick decision he turned left and headed for the park. Maybe he could hide or something. His breathing was becoming shallow and he knew he couldn't run on adrenalin forever. He crossed an empty playground and in his hurry nearly stumbled over an abandoned basketball.

An inner uneasiness told him he couldn't relax quite yet, and he really wished he hadn't turned down Alex' offer of walking him home. He looked behind to see if he was being followed. He didn't see anyone.

_SLAM_

Charles fell to the ground. He was so sure he'd outrun Emma. Looking up in panic he tried to find that spot in his mind he could use to defend himself when…

"Charles?"

"Erik!" he cried out in relief as the taller boy held out a hand to help him up.

"W-what are you doing here?" he asked as he got off the ground.

'… _I could ask you the same?...' _

"On my way home," Erik asked, still holding on to Charles hand. "What are _you_ doing out here? I almost never see you outside this late."

"I, uh, just felt like walking, I guess," Charles answered lamely, feeling the strong doubt in the other's mind. He turned to look behind one more time but still saw no sign of the blonde woman. He sighed in relief.

"Want me to walk you home?" Erik asked as he obviously sensed Charles' uneasiness. Charles blushed.

"Sure," he smiled before adding, "if it's not too much trouble."

"It's not," Erik grinned as they began walking in the direction of Charles' home.

Charles felt like he should somehow feel a little guilty about letting Erik walk him home. Surely it was a little selfish to expose Erik to whatever danger Charles might encounter on the way. Not that it mattered in reality. He felt far too small and vulnerable alone to give up whatever little comfort Erik's company brought.

The air had turned chilly as the night grew darker and Charles was starting to regret his choice of hoodie. He really should have picked a jacket instead. Or a jacket _and_ a hoodie. That sounded nice. Nice and warm.

"You' cold?" Erik asked next to him, having clearly picked up on Charles' shivering.

"Just a little," he answered and looked away. He didn't like people worrying about him; it felt too unfamiliar. "It's no big deal."

"Sure it is," Erik said and took off his leather jacket before handing it to Charles who shook his head vigorously at the gesture.

"Then you'll be cold!"

"I'm not easily affected by cold temperatures," he answered, still patiently holding his jacket out for Charles to take. Charles smiled and resignedly put on the offered extra layer of protection from the weather. The jacket was a little big on him but it was warm and smelled like Erik so he couldn't complain.

Though Charles could feel Erik's questions to his whereabouts they walked in silence the rest of the way to Charles' apartment. The lights of his home shone out towards the streets and Charles could feel the presence of an angry mind pacing the rooms.

He gulped. It was Kurt. And he knew Cain had left Charles unattended – and that Charles had taken that opportunity to sneak out. He was in so much trouble.

"Something wrong?" Erik asked as Charles handed him back his jacket.

Charles shook his head. "No, no. Everything's fine…"

Maybe he should just stay out on the streets forever, he thought worriedly. Maybe he could sneak back to the shoe shop and just stay there for a while. He absentmindedly rubbed his bruised wrist. Erik eyed him quizzically.

'…_look scared?.. something's gotta be wrong…'_

Erik's suspicions brought Charles back to reality like a bucket of ice water.

"I should probably go inside," he sighed. "Thank you, Erik, for walking me home."

"My pleasure," Erik said in such a purring voice it actually caused Charles to shiver from more than the cold.

_(Erik's POV)_

Erik had expected this night to just as horrible as the last ones. He'd felt his senses explode at the scent of a crystalizing heart near him. He'd felt Emma's presence in his mind this time; telling him to back off. This one was hers. Apparently this one had telepathic powers similar to hers and it made him more of a thread to anyone who wasn't … well, her. He'd accepted her decision to hunt down the heart alone. He didn't want to be a part of this at all. At least that's what he told himself as he continuously circled the area.

Then he'd felt it. The pull towards the park and he'd almost completely lost himself to the beast within when he ran into Charles, looking so tiny, scared and vulnerable.

It had saved his night, truly, and he was still smiling at the boy's back as he made his way into the building he claimed to live in. It didn't really feel right to Erik. Not just the scared look on Charles' face – but the place itself. It wasn't at all what Erik pictured someone like Charles to live in. He'd always imagined Charles to live in a big fancy house full of nerdy books and fireplaces. Yes, Charles definitely deserved a fireplace. Then maybe he wouldn't be so cold and he'd stop wearing those big sweaters and hoodies. This place didn't deserve Charles. The building was covered in graffiti and the stench of urine, and the neighborhood looked downright dangerous.

No, Charles did not belong here, Erik concluded as he left with a bad feeling in his gut.


	7. First Meeting

**Warnings**: Same as before.

**Disclaimer**: I still don't own X-Men.

**A/N: ** Okay, so this took me way longer to write than I thought it would. The plan was to write the chapter as soon as I came back home from my vacation but… well, I've started watching Doctor Who. It distracted me. A lot! But in a good way. Anyway, here goes. It's a little short but I felt it was best standing alone.

**Chapter 7**

_(Charles' POV)_

Charles had often wondered why it didn't matter to him that Erik seemed dangerous. From the moment he'd first laid eyes on the other Charles had picked up a strong aura of trouble that set off all alarms within his mind. But it didn't matter how dangerous he looked. It didn't matter how intimidated Charles felt around him. He'd still offered Erik his help back then.

-.-.-_.-.-

_It had been six month into the first year of high school. He'd seen Erik around school, sure, but he'd never thought for a second that he would approach him one day. Not until he was walking home from school one day without Cain and he'd spotted Erik crouched against an alley wall. The tall brunette had been clutching his side and gasping, and as he turned slightly Charles had noticed the red fluid running down his hand._

_Typically Charles was one to avoid all forms of drama and trouble but at the sight of Erik's pained face he'd ignored his discomfort. He had to help._

"_Are you alright?" he'd asked the other. Wild eyes had squinted up at him fiercely. _

"_Do I look alright?!" Erik had spat, causing Charles to jump at the tone. Thankfully, he was used to harsh words and bad tempers so he didn't leave. He made to help the other stand but Erik shook him off and instead used the dirty wall for support as he straightened himself. Blood was seeping through his shirt and Erik was clutching hard to stop the flow. _

"_Do you need me to call an ambulance?" Charles had asked cautiously. Erik had groaned in discomfort._

"_N-no. I'll be fine. Just, just gotta get home," he'd answered as he tried to start walking. He didn't make it far, though, before collapsing on the pavement. Charles had run to his side and started searching his back for his first aid kit. He always carried one on him in fear that one of his own wounds might start bleeding again. _

"_You have to treat it right away or you're going to lose too much blood," he'd reasoned as Erik had shied away from his helping hands. _

_Erik had eyed the bandages in Charles' hands with caution before slowly removing his hand from his side. Charles had pulled up Erik's blood-soaked shirt as carefully as he could and was relieved to see that the wound wasn't actually all that deep. Knowing what to do from years of self-treatment Charles had applied pressure with a bandage and started dressing it. When he'd finally finished he'd looked up to see Erik studying him through half-closed eyes. _

"_Who are you?" Erik had asked. _

"_Huh?" _

"_You look familiar. What's your name?" Erik had tried again, grabbing Charles' chin gently with a shaky hand. _

"_Ch-Charles," he'd stammered as his cheeks turned red. "Charles Xavier. W-we go to the same school."_

_Erik had nodded at the information and leaned down close to Charles' face. _

"_Well, thank you, then, Charles," he'd said and kissed Charles lightly before rising to his feet to leave. "I'm Erik." _

-.-.-_.-.-

That had been the first time Charles had ever spoken to Erik, and while Erik might not have ever noticed Charles around the school before he sure did afterwards. It seemed not a day passed without Erik suddenly showing up to talk to him. Not that he minded, but his friends had started to take notice and continued to tease him about it.

"He likes you," Moira said for the hundredth time as they ate their lunch on the grass outside the gymnasium.

"Of course he does. We're friends," Charles mumbled, knowing it wasn't what she'd meant.

"He _likes_ likes you, stupid," Amy had joined in, wiggling her eyebrows. Charles snickered at the sight.

"Sure," he said and rolled his eyes, really tired of having this conversation over and over again.

"Why else would he be looking at you like that," Moira grinned.

"Like what?"

"Like _that_," she said and nodded her head towards the brick wall near the parking lot. And sure enough Charles looked up and locked eyes with Erik. Erik grinned and Charles couldn't stop himself from smiling back. It was almost a shame Amy and Moira were there. Erik might have actually come over if he'd been eating alone. Catching himself thinking that thought, he blushed deeply and refocused his attention on his sandwich. The girls giggled.

"Well, at least we're certain that _you_ like _him_," Amy laughed. Moira eyed him.

"You really do, don't you?" she asked.

Charles looked back to Erik who was typing something on his phone before looking up to flash Charles a tempting smile.

"Yes, I do."

He felt his pocket vibrate and pulled out his dated phone. He'd received a text from a number he didn't recognize.

_Meet up after school? -Erik_

Charles smiled and dodged Moira's attempts to grab his phone.

_Sure. _


	8. Good People

**Warnings**: Same as before.

**Disclaimer**: I still don't own X-Men.

**A/N**: I'm SO sorry that this took so long to write. My gap-year is over and I'm back in school (University style!), and frankly it's taking up a lot more time and energy than I thought it would. But I'm gonna do my very best to finish this story like I planned – though it's gonna be quite a few chapters more.

**Chapter 8**

(Charles' POV)

Erik waited for him outside by the parking lot. Charles knew, of course. He was the one to plant the idea in Erik's mind. He felt like he was getting better at his mind-control thing. He'd spent most of his day listening in on the other students' thoughts and tried to keep the teachers from asking him any questions. It was actually quite difficult, it turned out, to make someone look away from you. The first few times he'd tried it the teachers had focused every bit of their attention on him the second he placed his name in their mind. Apparently the 'don't notice' didn't make a difference. It was like telling someone _not_ to think of a purple elephant. He learned to distract them. Make them think of other students more.

That's what gave him the idea of how to get rid of Cain for the day. It had only been mere seconds after he'd answered Erik's text about meeting up that he remembered that his stepbrother wouldn't allow it. After Charles' little escape number the last time Kurt was out, the man had ordered his son to never lose Charles completely out of sight.

Charles had planted the idea of hanging out with his friends so deeply in Cain's mind that the guy actually bolted out of his classroom to meet up with them. After that, planting the idea of meeting up in the parking lot in Erik's mind seemed fairly easy.

"Hey," Charles greeted him as he made his way to his side.

"Hey," Erik grinned, then looked over his shoulder. "Your brother's not walking you home today, is he?"

"No," Charles smiled. "He … had plans."

Erik nodded, seemingly pleased with the answer. "Wanna go to the park?"

"The park?" Charles asked as he followed Erik.

"Yes." Erik looked at him with a smile. "You don't spend a lot of time outside school and home, do you?"

Charles shook his head.

"Don't you get bored?" Erik asked. "Lonely?"

Charles averted his eyes to the ground. It was true, wasn't it? Aside from the lunches with Amy and Moira and his talks with Erik, Charles didn't really socialize. Not the way he used to at least. Before his mother disappeared on that mysterious trip, Charles used to spend lots of time with his classmates. He actually loved spending time with all sorts of people. People were interesting and they used to like him too. But after Cain's vigorous campaign of driving the majority of his peers away from him, Charles only really had the two girls left. And now Erik.

The best thing about Erik was probably that he didn't wait for Cain's stamp of approval. Erik didn't seem to be intimidated by Charles' stepbrother at all. Charles looked up to see Erik watching his facial expression attentively.

"Maybe a little," Charles answered. He realized his tone was far sadder than he wanted this afternoon to be so he quickly fixed his face with a smile. He was happy after all. He got to spend time with Erik – the one person Cain probably couldn't scare away.

"So," he tried in his most cheerful voice as they entered the park. "What do you want to do?"

Erik smiled charmingly. "I wanna show you something."

He reached for Charles' hand and pulled the boy along with him towards the northern part of the park. Here in the afternoon the park was full of children playing and old ladies feeding birds, making for a cheerful mood all around the area. Charles smiled. Now that he'd finally found a way of manipulating Cain he really should go out more.

Erik took him to a gathering of tall trees where he stopped, turned to Charles and held a finger to his lips. Taking the hint Charles stopped himself from asking what they were here for. He didn't have to anyway because Erik pointed to somewhere near the trees in front of them. Charles squinted his eyes to see through the shadows and smiled when he finally saw what Erik had brought him to see.

At the foot of a much shorter tree sat three young girls who didn't look much older than ten years old. They were seated around a big cardboard box with two tiny young squirrels in it. The girls had gathered all sorts of nuts and seeds in their uniform skirts and were now gingerly placing them in the box with the squirrels. Charles smiled at the endearing sight of the girls cooing at the animals.

"That is adorable," Charles said in a low voice to avoid disturbing the girls. He turned to Erik. "You knew they were here?"

"They've been here every day for the last two weeks," Erik nodded. "Made me think of you."

"Why?" Charles wondered out loud.

"Because it seemed like something you'd appreciate – something that you'd do."

The answer made Charles glance up at Erik with curiosity. He'd wondered for a while why Erik seemed so intent of getting to know him. He decided now was as good a time as any to find out and asked the taller boy. Erik laughed.

"You're kidding," he grinned.

Charles shook his head. "I'm serious. Why me?"

Erik cocked his head to the side and smiled fondly at Charles, rubbing his thumb along the back of the hand he was still holding.

"Because I didn't think people like you existed."

"People like me?" Charles asked.

"Good people. Genuinely good people," Erik answered. "People who care and go out of their way to help others. Honestly, I didn't think there were any of those left. Most of humanity is so selfish and indifferent."

"I'm sure there are lots of good people out there," Charles said. Erik laughed.

"Of course you'd believe that," he whispered and looked down at their entwined hands, then glanced back up at Charles.

Charles' phone rang loudly in his pocket, interrupting the intense eye contact that had erupted between the two. Erik let go of Charles' hand so he could pick it up. Charles raised an interested eyebrow at the name on the screen.

"Hello."

"Hey Kiddo," Logan's voice sounded. "We're having a meet up at the store tonight at nine."

"What for?" Charles asked curiously.

"Practice," the man's rough voice answered before hanging up abruptly.

Charles put the phone back in his pocket, then realized he had no idea what time it was so he pulled it back out again to check. He was late. Kurt would be home soon.

"You have to leave?" Erik guessed, sounding disappointed. Charles nodded sadly.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I have to be home before my stepfather."

"Why?"

"We have … an agreement of sorts," Charles shrugged. Erik sighed but nodded in defeat as he began walking Charles home. Charles could feel Erik's questions about his domestic issues rising to the surface of his mind and guessed it probably wouldn't be all that long before he would start voicing them.

They stopped just outside the apartment building. Erik eyed the ugly greyish building, frowning. Then he looked back down to Charles. The question was coming. The tall brunet opened his mouth but Charles cut him off immediately.

"Don't ask," he pleaded. "Just… not now, okay?"

Erik's facial expression softened. "Okay."

He stepped closer to Charles, planting a soft kiss on his lips.

"I won't."


	9. Talents

**Warnings**: Same as before.

**Disclaimer**: I still don't own X-Men.

**A/N**: God, I'm slow at this. Who knew studying could take up that much of your time! I'm lying of course; I've been busy with Kick-Ass2, Doctor Who and the Walking Dead. I really do watch too much TV…

**Chapter 9**

(Charles' POV)

"What am I thinking?" Sean asked for the seventh time that evening.

"Haven't we done this enough?" Charles sighed. The redhead shook his head violently. "Fine, you're thinking that cats are – quote – _arrogant bastards_."

"Awesome!" Sean laughed again. "And true!"

Behind him Alex rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Dude, he already hears our thoughts perfectly fine. If he's gonna get any better we gotta think of something else."

Charles smiled in agreement. He was getting a bit tired of repeating Sean's random moments of brilliance.

"You said you could put thoughts in people's heads?" Alex asked curiously. Charles nodded and accepted the soda the boy offered him whilst interested following the train of thought in his head.

"So, in general you don't just _hear_ what goes on in peoples mind, you can _meddle _with it as well?" the blonde asked. Charles nodded again.

"Isn't the brain, like, responsible for just about all our senses," he continued. "And our moves."

"Woaw, you mean Charles could move someone around like a puppet?" Sean asked loudly, looking disturbingly interested.

"Wasn't really where I was getting at but sure…"

They both looked to Charles expectantly. He shook his head at them. "I don't think I could do that just yet. Sounds like it would take a lot of force and I've only been able to _speak_ to peoples mind so far… not to mention that I don't _want_ to control people like that."

"Why not?!" Sean asked disappointedly as he sat himself back down on a pile of shoe boxes.

"Sounds a bit… violating," he answered. "I wouldn't do it."

Sean still looked disappointed but Alex at least nodded in respectful understanding. Logan got up from his spot behind the counter to finally join the boys on their spot in the middle of the shop floor.

"Why don't we try what you did to Blondie back in the subway?" the man asked.

"What did I do?" Charles asked, searching through both his own and Logan's memories to find the answer. He honestly didn't remember doing much other than being scared, but in Logan's mind he saw something different. He saw himself putting two fingers to his right temple and stretch out a hand towards the attacking Emma. Then he saw the change in the features of her face. How she clenched her head as she screamed in pain. And he finally understood. He'd done that. That's why he'd gotten the weird feeling of having his mind stretched out across two different places. He'd been inside Emma's brain and told it to be hurting.

"I really did that?" he mumbled to himself. He could tell Sean and Alex were confused. They weren't mind readers after all.

"You certainly did something," Logan said around his cigar.

"Did _what_?" Sean and Alex asked simultaneously.

"He hurt the bitch with his mind," Logan answered irritated. The two boys _aww_'ed in fascinated understanding.

"That sounds cool. Try that!" Sean said eagerly. Logan hit him on the back of his head.

"We're not gonna start hurting each other just for practice," the man growled.

"… you're hurting _me_," Sean mumbled and narrowly escaped another hit. Charles grinned. Weird as they might be, he was starting to like these people.

"Maybe we could go for another feeling than pain perhaps?" he proposed. The others nodded and he heard several suggestions in their heads.

"Make me blind!" Sean shouted enthusiastically. The others gave him weird looks. "I've always been curious if I could be like one of those bat-people who can see with their hearing – sonar style!"

Charles eyed Logan. The man just shrugged. Remembering the memory he put two fingers to his temple and moved his mind into Sean's head. He searched for the boy's senses, which was a lot harder than finding the thoughts that seemed to jump at him.

Then he found it. It was like an entirely different part of the mind – the control panel underneath all the noisy thoughts and memories. An uncomfortable, warm sensation spread through his own mind. He tried telling the mind to not see. Nothing happened. Sean just looked at him expectantly. Charles closed his eyes and tried to imagine blindness. Blackness. He figured he could work with that. He imagined a heavy blanket of blackness wrap itself around Sean's head and immediately he heard the boy gasp.

"It worked! I can't see!" he exclaimed happily, then his face fell as he snapped his fingers next to his ears. "I can't hear! I can't hear either!"

Charles felt the boy's horror and panic as real as was it his own.

'**Sean. Calm your mind'**

"Charles? That's you, right? Make it stop, please!" Sean pleaded. Alex looked worried and put a hand on the redhead's shoulder.

'**I'm here. Just calm down. I can already feel it slipping away'**

The boy took a deep breath and tried to do as he was told. For a few minutes everything was quiet as Charles tried to remove his mind completely from Sean's. Then Sean's eyes suddenly became focused again and a huge grin spread across his face.

"Charles, you freaking rule!" he shouted – and winced as he'd regained his hearing. "I want your powers, dude!"

Charles laughed before wondering out loud. "What do _you_ do?"

Sean jumped to his feet and went behind the counter for a glass that he placed on top a shelf. He walked several meters away from it, looked to the others and winked.

"Aw, come on, man," Alex whined. "We're almost out of glasses."

Sean grinned. "You might wanna cover your ears."

Noting how the others obeyed immediately Charles put his hands to his ears as well. Sean inhaled stiffly and abruptly exhaled in a painfully loud shriek. The glass shattered. The boy turned to the others and bowed theatrically.

"Your turn," he grinned at the others. Logan just lifted his hand lazily. As he clenched his fist three metal claws appears from his knuckles. He allowed Charles to look at them with wide eyes for a few minutes before retracting them again. Charles looked to Alex expectantly. The boy looked slightly terrified for a moment.

"Maybe you should just see what I do from my memory," he said embarrassedly. "It's not exactly indoor friendly."

Charles did as he said and almost completely stopped breathing at the sight of strong burst of power erupting from the boy, destroying almost an entire neighborhood.

"Wow."

"Yup," Alex said and scratched the back of his head. He looked at his watch and sprang to his feet.

"Sorry guys, I need to go now."

He waved at them halfheartedly and left the shop. Charles sensed sadness radiating off Sean next to him.

"He has to go visit his little brother," the redhead explained when he caught Charles looking. "He's very sick and it doesn't seem like he's gonna get better."

"Oh." Charles felt a horrible. He hadn't even sensed that in the other. He hid it so well. The front door sprung open loudly. Charles looked up, half expecting Alex to have come back. He hadn't. Prancing though the door came Raven, looking very disheveled, with Hank and a dark-skinned boy behind her. Charles easily picked up the reason for their messy looks; they'd been attacked on their way and almost hadn't escaped.

"Hi," Raven greeted through her teeth as she settled before a mirror to start fixing her hair and makeup.

"Why don't you just _change_, Raven," the newcomer asked teasingly. Charles raised an eyebrow.

"Fine!" she sneered and for a moment it seemed like every cell of her skin raised and turned. Suddenly she was a brunette with big green eyes and sun-kissed skin, looking absolutely flawless. A smile formed on her lips when she noticed how Charles' jaw had dropped.

"Oh, right," she laughed. "You didn't know I could do that."

She stood and went to stand in the middle of the room. "Well, as promised, here's the latest member of our exclusive little club, Darwin!"

The boy in question curtsied ironically. "Nice to meet you. Sorry about the delay."

"What exactly did happen?" Charles asked politely after introducing himself.

"Half of them coming at us at once," Hank whined. "Angel, Azazel _and_ Riptide!"

Charles gasped as he saw the images of the faces that flashed through Hank's memory as he listed the names. He recognized Azazel to be the red-skinned man who once attacked him. The girl, Angel, wasn't familiar but looked lethal none the less. What had made him gasp was the third one, Riptide. He knew that one. The dark-haired one with the intimidating grin, dark eyes and loud mouth: it was Erik's friend Janos.


	10. Victorious

**Warnings**: slashy themes – dudes kissing and what not.

**Disclaimer**: I still don't own X-Men.

**A/N: **Not a very long chapter, but once again I just felt it stood better alone seeing as what comes next might take up some space. Either way: Thanks for the reviews so far – love them! – and enjoy!

**Chapter 10**

_(Charles' POV)_

He could feel the tension radiating off the apartment before he even put his key in the lock. Someone was very agitated inside. Charles briefly considered just turning around and never coming back but eventually he made up his mind and entered the apartment as silently as possible.

He didn't have to. Cain had sat himself directly in front of the door and immediately jumped up to grab hold of Charles' arm. He pulled his stepbrother inside and slammed the door shut harshly.

"Where the hell have you been?!" he growled into Charles' face, positively trembling with disbelieving anger.

Charles stared at him in a state of mild awe. Something was different. For as long as he'd known him, Cain had been this giant figure of intimidation. Someone so big and powerful that no room ever seemed big enough.

Now Charles was only mildly uncomfortable – and slightly fascinated. He could _feel_ the impacts he'd already left in the other's mind. He could see the control panel underneath his angry thoughts.

And he knew. He knew he was capable of doing just about whatever he wanted to Cain's mind – probably before Cain could even act himself. It would be so incredibly easy.

And somehow Cain didn't look so big and scary anymore.

"Out," he answered the older teem calmly while sending a clear message to his brain, _let go._ Cain let go immediately, a confused look on his face. Charles almost smiled as he saw himself through Cain's eyes. No trembling, no avoiding eye contact, no hesitation. He looked almost new. And he liked it.

Slipping past Cain he made his way into his room. He sensed Cain was about to snap out of his confusion, so he put two fingers to his temple and made the boy's mind convince itself to go to bed. When he heard the other's bedroom door slam shut he smiled. Never before had he avoided harm so easily. He honestly couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this empowered. He felt strong, safe and at ease. For the first time in a long time Charles fell asleep with a smile on his lips.

_(Erik's POV)_

Something was different. Erik couldn't quite put his finger on it at first but something about Charles had definitely changed. For one thing he entered the school alone – even though he was perfectly on time. He was also looking thoroughly well-rested and high-spirited. He watched the boy cross the parking lot with his head just a little higher than usual. When he caught sight of Erik he smiled broadly, making Erik smile in return.

"'Morning," the smaller boy greeted him merrily.

"Good morning," Erik smiled. "Sleep well?"

"Very," Charles grinned as they walked through the doors together. He could see the two girls Charles usually hung out with giggling and nodding their heads in their direction. Charles sent them a look and they went inside the girls' bathrooms. Stopping in front of Erik's very unused locker Charles looked up at him with a strangely determinate look on his face.

"Could we, maybe, hang out… after school today?" the boy asked, blue eyes seemingly taking in every feature of Erik's face.

"Absolutely," Erik answered almost instantly. Charles smiled radiantly.

"Great!" he said, voice drowning slightly in the noise of the bell. "See you then."

At this Charles turned and left for class – biology, if Erik's memory served him right. Erik smirked at the boy's back. Yes, something was definitely different about Charles. And he liked it.

_(Charles' POV)_

'_... different about him…'_

Charles suppressed a laugh. It would seem Erik had picked up on his newfound confidence. He could easily sense that Erik quite liked it, too. Couldn't blame him. Charles liked it too. He liked that he no longer felt vulnerable and superior to everyone else. And he very much liked that his revived inner-strength now allowed him to keep eye contact with Erik, making him feel butterflies and shivers rather than unease and intimidation.

"Did you actually go to class today?" Charles asked. Erik smiled at his cheerful tone.

"No, not really," he answered. Charles cocked an eyebrow at that. He still couldn't really see the point in coming to school if not to go to class. They had sat themselves by the foot of a large oak tree in the far back of the city park, watching the young girls taking care of the squirrels.

"Seriously, though," Charles laughed. "Why do you go then? What do you do if you're not in class?"

Erik looked at Charles who suppressed a shiver at the wave of affection coming off him. He'd promised himself he would try his hardest not to listen to Erik's thoughts but somehow it was impossible not to slip up when it came to emotions. It was like they were colors –colors that were still visible when he shut off his inner hearing.

"Mostly I just sit around. By the wall or in the library. I like the smell of books," Erik explained.

"And why do you go?" Charles asked again, feeling like Erik had avoided his first question deliberately. Erik didn't answer at first, and Charles could feel his trouble in finding the words to formulate his answer in a way that only gave away exactly the amount of information he wanted it to.

"I go because I need to. It's a place of relaxation for me, it calms me down. Like a safe spot I suppose," he answered, speaking each word with much care before thoughtfully adding, "and you being there helps a lot, too."

Charles pulled some grass though his fingers, trying to fight the blush that was no doubt making itself known on his face.

"Do I actually make that much of a difference, though?" he wondered aloud. A middle-aged woman had made her way to the girls by the squirrel box and was now ushering them home, leaving the two teens to themselves.

"Yes," Erik answered Charles' wondering promptly. Another wave of affection came off Erik, crashing on Charles so hard he was momentarily stunned into forgetting to block his inner hearing. What he heard from Erik's mind – every word of appreciation for Charles' existence, personality, appearance, voice, eyes, lips – made him take enough advantage of his new confidence to lean up and press his lips to Erik's.

Erik responded almost immediately, moving his lips against Charles'. Where they might have been butterflies before, his stomach suddenly felt like it was inhabited by doves. Erik gently pried his lips apart and the doves grew to eagles at the feeling of the strange tongue in Charles' mouth. He felt a strong arm encircling his waist, pulling him closer, and he moved his hands into the other's hair while allowing Erik to pull him onto his lap.

They pulled apart for air, faces just inches apart. Charles smiled uncertainly as he tried to decipher the look in Erik's eyes. It felt … victorious. One of the hands on Charles' back moved up to touch his face fondly and Charles leaned forward to rest his forehead on Erik's. He grinned. He was feeling quite victorious himself.


	11. Skylines and Safe Havens

**Warnings**: slashy themes.

**Disclaimer**: I still don't own X-Men.

**A/N: **Wee! Time for Charlie's first flight!

**Chapter 11**

_(Charles' POV)_

Charles hadn't tried to bring back his wings since that first time in the store. He could feel they were there, somewhere around his shoulder blades even if he couldn't see them. He had wondered if it would be less painful the second time around, less bloody. But even though Logan and Alex had assured him that was the case he was still cringing too hard at the memory of last time to actually test the theory.

That was why he was filled with both dread and anticipation as he now stood on top one of the largest buildings in the area. Next to him Raven stood with a face so pale it almost seemed like she was purposely changing her appearance again. This was her first real flight, too, and she was probably even more scared than Charles since she hadn't felt the calm and confident thoughts coming off Alex, Sean and Hank.

The door to the stairs opened and Logan stepped back out onto the rooftop with the rest of them, setting a back of groceries down before making his way over to Raven and Charles.

"Darwin couldn't get out of work so it'll just be you two learning today," Logan explained as they stared behind him to see if he was alone.

Charles nodded in understanding before casting another glance at the skyline of the city. He gulped. That sure was a _long_ way down.

"Alright, kiddos," Logan barked impatiently. "Wings out. I trust you remember how."

'… _like we could forget…'_ Raven thought and shuddered at the memory of bloodying up the girls' changing rooms of her high school gym. Charles flashed her a reassuring smile but he could tell from her facial expression it did nothing to soothe her.

But Raven was a brave soul. She shook off every fear and hesitation in her body, took a deep breath and as she willed it two triangles of light rose from her shoulder blades. In seconds the light had materialized into beautiful white wings. She flapped them tentatively, opening and closing them as a look of sheer pride made its way into her eyes. She turned expectantly to Charles with joyous laugh and encouraging thoughts.

'… _didn't hurt at all!...'_

Charles felt reassured but still took a couple of minutes before trying the same. As it turned out, it was even easier to pull out his wings than it was to enter someone's mind. He barely had to think of the invisible lumps on his back before he could feel the heaviness of the wings weighing down his shoulder. Like Raven before him he tested his control of the wings. It truly was like moving his arms or legs, completely natural.

Alex gave him a hard pat on the back in praise before taking off his shirt to conjure up his own wings. Charles felt a bit stupid for not thinking of that. Now he had yet another ruined shirt on his hands. Hank and Logan were quick to follow Alex' lead and were now equally winged and shirtless.

"It's a shame Darwin's missing this," Raven said as she took in the horizon.

"It's alright, I told him to get used to the feeling of the wings at home," Hank said. "He can just join us next time."

"Can you feel if any of the Reds are close, kiddo?" Logan asked Charles, inhaling one last breath of his cigar before putting it out in his palm. The wound healed immediately. Charles closed his eyes and searched for familiar brains in the area.

"I'm not seeing anyone," he said, ignoring the classmates he'd found.

Logan nodded and stepped to the edge of the building. A fence had been set up to prevent jumpers but Logan cut a large hole easily with the three claws of his right hand. Did he really have _two_ talents, Charles wondered.

As soon as the hole was made, Sean roared excitedly and ran to the edge. He leaped and Charles gasped as the boy disappeared; only to reappear again moments later, carried by his wings.

Alex grinned and followed him over the edge. Hank smiled timidly at Raven and offered to take her hand. She ignored it and ran to jump herself, full of confidence. Hank shrugged and followed her close after, yelling at her to move the wings a certain way. It didn't seem necessary, though, as she was already soaring higher than any of the flying boys.

Logan sent Charles the impatient look of someone who had unwillingly become a teacher. Charles bowed his head in comprehension and hesitantly made his way to the edge. Sean and Raven were currently in competition over who could reach the highest point, while Alex and Hank were just cruising around. He took a deep breath and stared down. He could feel the pull in his wings at the sight. He jumped.

For half a second he genuinely thought he was going to die. Then the wings spread out on their own accord and with just a few flaps of the wings he had joined the others.

Charles had never been intimidated by heights. They fascinated him. Today was no exception. He flew so high up that he couldn't even see the people on the streets. The birds around him eyed him with both caution and curiosity as he flew in a big circle to take it all in. Raven soon joined him in exploring the skies and he could feel her excitement and awe coming at him in waves. Charles grinned. This was amazing.

_(Erik's POV)_

_This was amazing. _There was really no other word for it. Erik couldn't even lose the smug grin on his face as he sat by the wall with Charles curled up against his side. He didn't even care that his friends sent him mocking looks from the other side of the school yard that he'd banished them to. Remy walked past him on his way to the parking lot, winking at him.

The only one of his friends who wasn't there to mock or encourage him was Janos. He didn't come to school anymore.

Janos wasn't disgusted with his monstrous second nature the way Erik was with his. Quite the opposite. He'd accepted the new him. He'd stopped coming to school, saying that he didn't need to be there since he already knew what he was going to do with his life, his new self: Riptide.

Erik clearly remembered the first time he'd seen his friend on his doorstep covered in some poor soul's blood with a rock-hard heart in his hand. Erik had been both mortified at the sight and relieved he already knew someone who shared the same fate as himself.

It was Janos who'd introduced him to the others: the ice-cold telepath Emma, the red-skinned transporter Azazel and the young exotic dancer Angel. Where Janos had fit in with the group almost immediately, Erik had much more difficulty accepting the fact that he was even the slightest bit similar to these murderous sadists.

Erik cringed at the memory of the confrontation that had followed when he'd voices his opinion on the matter. Azazel had been over him before he could even think about defending himself and he only narrowly escaped when Janos had made an effort to separate the two.

Erik's grip around Charles' waist tightened a bit. That's how they'd met. He'd left the others with a gory-looking wound in his side, tumbling through the streets past indifferent strangers until he'd met Charles. Pretty, kind-hearted Charles.

He'd been so mystified by the boy's actions. Very few of the people in his life would be this anxious to help him had they been in his place, yet here was a person willing to get his hands bloody helping a complete stranger. He'd been so fascinated by the sweet boy with the blue eyes that he'd made a promise to himself that he would get to know him.

It kept him coming back to school. Which was good since it was one of the few public places the other murderous freaks left alone. It was a safe haven for him to feel human again. At least if he tried. He had trained himself to not use his sense of smell – clocking his nostrils if necessary. Any one of the students of this school's halls could be the possessor of a crystalizing heart and if he ever caught their scent he would lose control. It would be the end of his safe haven. The end of his human spot.


End file.
